Pages

Friday, October 25, 2013

My Her Fashion Box arrived today and I've really struggled with whether to blog about it or not. I've been subscribed to Her Fashion Box since it started and I've really enjoyed receiving these boxes. Unfortunately last month's box didn't hold much value for me but I didn't mind too much as that's bound to happen and that had been the first time. When I received this month's box I was really disappointed to see what had been offered.

To give you a little background Her Fashion Box is a subscription service that costs $39.95 a month and promises to deliver "2-3 on-trend fashion accessories tailored to your style profile, as well as the additional value of carefully selected beauty products or deluxe size samples from high-end, boutique and cult brands from around the world".

I'll let you decide:

A $4 lipstick, a ring that doesn't fit me (and isn't adjustable) alongside more fashion accessories that look cheap and join my collection of weird necklaces I'll never wear. Another 2 nailpolishes even though last month's box contained 2 nail polishes also. I don't use nailpolish so these are completely wasted on me and repeating a product isn't what I would call mixing it up. The tea and tea strainer is a good concept I guess but I won't be trying it myself as I loathe herbal tea. The one thing I will use in this box is the Collagen Crystal Eye Patches but as this is only worth $4 I could've bought a whole 6 pack of these and still had $15 left over.

I wouldn't normally be so vocal over a subscription box as I'm aware that everyone has different taste and isn't going to like every thing they get but I honestly feel really let down by Her Fashion Box and I truly think they didn't deliver on what they promise. That's just my honest opinion.

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

I was recently given the opportunity to try the Ardell Magic Lash Growth Enhancer*. To say I was skeptical would be an understatement as I just don't see how applying a serum to my lashes would make them grow any longer or fuller.

Magic Lash Growth Enhancer Pen

This is what Ardell had to say about this product:

This concentrated serum is a new breakthrough formula which fortifies and rejuvenates lifeless lashes with Opti-Grow Complex™. Multi-proteins immediately work to repair weak, thinning lashes and
stimulate new growth so that they appear healthier and fuller while
preventing future loss. Conditioners are also added to nourish lashes to
protect against future damage. The pen-style delivery system allows for
precise application on the lash line where it is needed most; at the
root. When used daily, results can be seen in as little as 3-5 weeks.

I applied this product on clean dry lashes every night for 4 weeks. I also applied this on my eyebrows as I have quite a few gaps in my eyebrows and if it works on lashes I couldn't see why it wouldn't work on my eyebrows.

I was definitely surprised when at about the 3 week mark I realised that the gaps in my eyebrows were starting to fill in and now after 4 weeks of use the gaps are completely gone. My eyelashes had a more subtle result and I found it was more to the outer edges of my eyes where I noticed the lashes were slightly longer and fuller than they had previously been.

The serum itself didn't seem to have any scent and I experienced no irritations to my eyes whatsoever.

Overall I am really impressed with this product but mainly for the results shown in my eyebrows rather than my lashes.

This product retails for $21.99 and if you have sparse eyebrows or eyelashes I would recommend trying this out.

Kayte xx

*This product was provided to me for my consideration but as always my thoughts and opinions are my own and not influenced in anyway.

Monday, October 21, 2013

One of my favourite things to do is "window shop" online. This basically consists of me filling up a "basket" with all the things I want to buy, seeing how much it costs and then clicking out of the whole shop. I've done this on numerous occasions with Cherry Culture so when I saw they were having a 40% off sale I decided to actually the buy the things I'd had my eyes on.

From L:R - Mauve, Taupe, Summer Peach

I had heard great things about the NYX Blush's so I bought 3 - Mauve, Taupe and Summer Peach. Taupe is supposed to be a great contour colour and the other 2 I thought would go well for Summer.

My eyes are quite small so half strip eyelashes are more suited to me. These Ardell Accent Lashes are the best I've tried so I picked up 3 packets. I find I can get quite a few uses out of just one pair so these should last me awhile.

NYX Round Lipsticks, Butter Gloss & Color Balm

I picked up two NYX Round Lipsticks in Spellbound & Louisiana, 2 butter glosses in Creme Brulee and Apple Strudel and a NYX Color Lip Balm in Merci. The NYX Colour Lip Balm is the only one I've tried before and I loved it so I picked up another one in a different colour. I'm excited to try the Butter Glosses and Round Lipsticks as I've heard good things.

Jordana Mascara & Cherry Culture Bubble Gum Lip Balm

The Cherry Culture Lip Balm in Bubblegum came free and the Jordana Best Lash Extreme Volumizing Mascara I picked up on a whim as I have never tried Jordana products.

All 13 products here cost me $32 all up with the discount applied but another $16 was added for shipping so all up I paid around $48 for this parcel of goodies which to me is great value. I do think that the shipping price was very high but this must be where they makeup some of the cost of being able to sell the makeup so cheap. If they had free shipping I would've bought a lot more :)

Please do let me know if you'd like to see a review on any one of these particular products.

Have you purchased from Cherry Culture before or tried any of these products with success?

Friday, October 18, 2013

I was recently asked to review a self-tanning mouse and with Summer not too far off I couldn't think of a better time to start testing out some fake tans. My theory is if I try them out in Spring it's no problem to cover up till it fades away or washes off. If I test them out in Summer and have a fail, I'll hate covering up in the hot weather.

Skin Wear Salon Solutions is a brand I hadn't heard of before but I was interested to try it out as they are Australian made and owned and are first and foremost product suppliers to tanning salons. Because my skin is of the 'pasty' variety I'm a fan of spray tans however I only get them done a few times a year for special occasions.

I trialled the Skin Wear Tan & Go Professional Self-Tanning Mouse in Medium-Bronze and a tanning mitt was supplied also. I much prefer to use a mousse and tanning mitt over sprays or creams because I just find them so much easier to apply and get an even result.

I took care to exfoliate and moisturise my legs the day before applying this and on the day of application i made sure my legs had no moisturiser or product on them. I pumped out some mousse onto the supplied tanning mitt and started applying. The first thing I noticed is that this tanning product doesn't smell like tanning product, it smells quite sweet with a hint of vanilla.

The colour of the mousse is a bronzed brown. There is no hint of orange
in this tan whatsoever which I was very impressed with. I'm not a fan
of the orange-hued tans as I find they don't look as natural. The colour the tan applied and dried is pretty much exactly the colour you're left with when you wash it off in 6-8 hours (I left mine on overnight).

I've never had any problem blending and buffing mousse tan onto my legs with a tanning mitt in the past but I found this quite difficult to work with. It seemed to be drying quite quickly so I worked as quick as I could to get it all rubbed in and even. Unfortunately for the bonier areas like my knees and ankles it was very hard to blend in and the next day I was left with a small area of unevenness on my ankles and feet.

And because I'm feeling very brave and I know you'll be nice and not judge me on my pastiness here are some photos :) The angle of the photos make it hard to see the uneveness around the feet and in one photo it looks like I didn't even apply tan there at all.

Overall I found this tan to be a bit hit and miss. I loved the colour and the scent but the fact that it was so hard to blend makes me think twice about using this product again. For someone who possibly already has some colour to their skin or is pro at applying tan this product may work better for them.

Do you fake tan? What's your favourite brand? I'd love to hear any tips or trick if you'd like to share in the comment section below.

Kayte xx

*This product was provided to me for my consideration but as always my thoughts and opinions are my own and not influenced in anyway.

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Last week, after 18 months I took a trip back to New Zealand to visit family and friends and show my partner around the country I grew up in. We only had 7 days and a lot of people to see and things to do. This will be a pic heavy post as I show you the highlights of the trip with a little haul at the end :) Even though we were only there for a short amount of time I did manage to fit in some shopping of course.

We stayed most of the time with my best friend Ruthie who I've been besties with for over 15 years. We have one of those friendships where no matter how long we've been apart for we pick up from the moment we left off so it was really special to be able to stay with her and her Husband. The first night we arrived we all stayed up talking till the wee hours of the morning.

View of Auckland from Mt Eden - Skytower and Rangitoto Island (Volcano) in the distance

On the Monday we went North to visit my 2 friends who have both had babies in the last year. This little guy below is only 3 weeks old and absolutely stole my heart. I held him like this for over an hour and he slept so soundly.

One of the best tourist spots to visit in the North Island of NZ is Rotorua. The lake is actually the crater of a volcano and the whole area is known for it's geothermal activity and features geysers and hot mud pools. While we were here we went Jet Boating, Luging, Visited a Thermal Park and soaked in the mud pools.

Lake Rotorua featuring some Geothermal activity

Luging with the Lake in the background

On our last night we all got dressed up and went out for dinner and drinks in Auckland City. We had an amazing dinner at Miss Claudy's at the Viaduct and it was the perfect way to end our amazing trip.

Me and my Bestie

Of course no holiday post would be complete without a little update on what I bought. New Zealand isn't the best place to go shopping as Australia is generally cheaper and has more range but I did pick up a few things Duty Free and also found a Daiso store on my travels (everything is $3.50NZD instead of $2.80AUD lol)

At the Daiso store I finally found the brush cleanser I missed out on getting when I was in Brisbane. I stocked up with 3 bottles and am hoping it's as good as everyone says it is. I also picked up a brow pencil to try as I had great success with my last Daiso eyebrow pencil.

From Duty Free I picked up the MAC Mineralize Moisture Foundation in NC15 and the Mineralize Blush in Dainty. This is my first MAC foundation so I'm really intrigued to see how it performs.

I found some Wet n Wild eyeshadows in a random store in Auckland and have heard good things about the formula so I picked them up. They were really cheap - maybe like $3 each.

And my favourite Vanilla candle E V E R I found in duty free for around $35AUD instead of $50 so I couldn't resist even though it was a pain the ass to lug on two flights. Well worth it in my opinion.

I also picked up some new clothes over there including a stunning dress from Cue but I'm no fashion blogger so there won't be any photos - you'll just have to take my word for it.

Hope you enjoyed hearing about my trip to NZ. I may be a little biased but New Zealand really is a magical place to have a holiday. It really struck me this time just how green and lush it really is and there is so much to do there. If you need more motivation; your money magically turns into even more when you're over there so everything feels/is way cheaper haha :D

Monday, October 14, 2013

I arrived back from my holiday to New Zealand late on Saturday night and spent Sunday suffering from the typical post holiday blues. I'll write a specific post about the holiday later in the week and show you some of my favourite pics including some of the shopping I did over there but in short I had a fantastic time visiting family and friends and showing my man around my homeland.

I went back to work today and was surprised and delighted when my Bellabox was delivered. It seemed like a nice little welcome back present sent to cheer me up :)

It seems that Bellabox have stopped sending their products in boxes and just like last month have sent this months products wrapped in bubblewrap and encased with the above cardboard slip. It seems to keep it all together fine and I wasn't using the boxes they were sending so the change doesn't bother me at all.

Bellabox October 2013

The card enclosed indicated that this is Bellabox's 2 year Birthday edition and they teamed up with They All Hate Us to bring this box.

The October Bellabox has 7 items 6 of which are sample/trial size and one full size product. Straight away I could tell the one full size product was worth more than what I'd paid for the box ($15) so I was happy.

Alfaparf Semi Di Lino Reconstruction Shampoo and Reconstruction Mask

I have never heard of this brand but these trial sized bottles are the perfect size to try out a new product. These both smell really good and I'm looking forward to trying them out.

Vaseline Healthy Radiance Anti-Aging Lotion

This body moisturiser contains AHA and pro-retinol to help fight the signs of aging so I'm intrigued to try this out and see what effect it has (if any). Another good trial size.

Beyonce Heat Perfume 2ml

This smells a bit strong for me but I like to keep these in my handbag for emergencies.

Nivea Light Moisturising Day Cream for Normal & Combination Skin

This doesn't really appeal to me much but I may give it a try. It does have SPF15 in it so might be a good one to try out on a hot summers day when I can get away with using a lighter day cream.

Loreal Paris Shine Caresse in 501 Bonnie

I was really excited to see this product as I've been wanting to try them out. This is worth $23.95 and apparently combines a gloss and lipstick in one.

Loreal Nutri Lift Gold Serum Foundation - Sachet

Another product I was excited to see, I've seen this foundation around but keep forgetting to swatch it when I'm in store. I think this sample in the colour Sand will be too dark for me but I'll try it out to see what the colour and consistency are like.

All in all I'm pretty happy with this box. There's nothing Wow in it but I should be able to use all of the products and for $15 it's not hard to see the value.

Friday, October 4, 2013

Only one more sleep till I see you in all your glory. I am super excited to see my grandparents, my best friend, my cousin and various other friends!! Who know's how I'll sleep tonight!

Dear Work,

A tour of a brewery was a perfect way to spend a day 'working' this week. Cheers for that ;)

Dear Lucy,

You've been in the wars lately and it's becoming obvious you're the neighbourhood skank, getting into fights and causing trouble. Also don't think I didn't see you chasing that dog down the street the other day - you'll never win!

Dear Qantas

Could you please remove luggage limits. It would help me a great deal if I didn't have to try to keep under 23kgs when packing my suitcase.

Dear Daylight Saving

I have been waiting for you for what feels like forever. I can't even remember what it feels like to come home and it still be daylight. Bring it on!

Dear Readers

Since I'll be on holiday next week so will my blog, but feel free to follow me on twitter (@imminent_beauty)and instagram (@kaytlynz) if you wanna see pics of my NZ adventure.

What have you got planned for this lovely long weekend? Anyone want me to bring them back a tub of marmite? Ha!

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

I did find quite a few new things this month which are featured in this favourites post but I've also shopped my stash and shown some love to some older products

Here's what I loved in September....

Hapuna Volumizing Shampoo & Conditioner*

I reviewed this and am currently running a giveaway to win a haircare pack featuring these products but I love love love them. They make my hair so soft, shiny and volumized that I just can't imagine how lank my hair must've looked before I started using these! Read my full review here and also enter the competition as it ends today.

Bondi Sands Instant Tan Light/Medium*

I can't wait to do a full review on this product but in short it is amazing. One coat of this on my legs left me instantly tanned with a natural bronze colour for longer than 24 hours. You actually have to scrub at it to get it off meaning if it rains or you drip water on yourself it's not going to start sliding off.

Furless Pink Angle Brush

I bought some Furless brushes this month and I'm really impressed. I've been looking for a good angle brush for ages so I could start using my brow zings again and this is perfect.

Benefit Brow Zings

I'd put this away for awhile because the brush that it comes with is too tiny for my big hands. Since receiving the Furless angle brush I've been able to start using this again on my brows and fallen in love all over again. This product was the very first product I ever reviewed on this here blog and you read it all here.

Nude by Nature Mineral Cover Loose Powder in Light
I dug this out from my stash and remembered all the reasons why I loved it. Just a light dusting leaves my skin looking flawless with no trace of cakiness. Can be built up for more coverage and I haven't found a foundation that it doesn't work with.

Maybelline Dream Pure BB Cream for Oily Skin in Light*
Absolutely loving this BB Cream. This is a neutral toned, medium coverage BB cream with a semi-matte finish. I've been wearing this every day with a bit of powder dusted over top to help it last the day. Full review here.

Mac Eyeshadow Palette - Fascinating Ruby: 6 Smokey Eyes
i bought this palette in a blog sale and I absolutely love the nude colours inside. They're cool toned and so easy to work with.

Mac Eyeshadow Palette

2 Revlon Lip Butters in Sorbet and Juicy Papaya
September saw me venture into the realm of bright lippies and I couldn't resist picking up these newly released Revlon Lip Butters asI was already in love with the soft buttery (I know right) feel of these on my lips. These are a fantastic way to ease into bright lipstick as they're more sheerer than a typical opaque lipstick

Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Eye Concealer in Light
Last month I featured this but in the shade 'Brightener' it was a pinky toned brightening concealer but this one is yellow toned and much more suited to covering up dark circles under the eyes. I much prefer yellow toned concealer and this has a great texture and isn't too thick.

What did you love in September?

Kayte xx

*Products were provided for my consideration but as always my opinions are my own and completely honest.